India’s federal police arrested the former head of the air force on Friday in an investigation into allegations of bribery in a contract to buy a dozen AgustaWestland helicopters, an official said.
Retired air chief marshal S.P. Tyagi, 71, has been at the center of allegations of impropriety in the 560 million-euro ($590 million) deal to buy the helicopters from AgustaWestland, a unit of the Italian defense group Leonardo-Finmeccanica.
The deal was canceled in 2014 after Finmeccanica’s then chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested on suspicion of paying bribes to secure the order for the helicopters, which were meant to fly senior Indian politicians.
Tyagi was arrested on Friday along with a cousin of his and a lawyer, an official of the Central Bureau of Investigation said. The CBI has filed a complaint against the three men alleging offenses including cheating, bribery and money laundering.

Source: Arab News